


Empathy is No Friend to War

by dunk_on_em (the_author_at_221B)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Force Visions, Gen, Heavy Angst, Umbara (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 11:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18715894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_author_at_221B/pseuds/dunk_on_em
Summary: The invasion of Umbara begins, and Ahsoka is lightyears away.Through the force, she feels every single thing that happens to her men.And it breaks her.





	Empathy is No Friend to War

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been on my mind for a while! Thank you so much for reading.   
> I welcome any and all comments that you might have!

_The council has ordered you back to Coruscant, effective immediately._

_Why?_

_I'm afraid a request was made by the Supreme Chancellor, and the Council obliged. That is all they would tell me._

_Well, I can't just leave my men._

_I'll be taking over in the interim._

**_Don't worry about a thing, Sir. We'll have this city under Republic control by the time you're back._ **

_Master Krell, this is Rex, my first in command. You won't find a finer or more loyal trooper anywhere._

_Good to hear that. I wish you well, Skywalker._

_…_

**_Your reputation precedes you, General. It is an honor to be serving you._ **

 

Ahsoka’s eyes snapped open. She quickly threw her legs over the side of the bed, stumbling forward until she was clear of the suffocating blankets wrapped around her. She took in gasping breaths, her eyes darting around the room. There was no one else in her quarters. She could hear nothing, save for the frantic pounding of her own heart. As she tried to settle herself, a quiet rapping at the door broke through her thoughts.

“Come in.” She was surprised at just how broken her voice was. It was the barest of whispers, hardly sounding like her at all.  The door slid open soundlessly. Plo Koon stood in the doorway, his arms crossed across his chest.

“A nightmare, little one?”

Ahsoka stood silently, searching for the right words.

“I don’t believe so, Master.”

“A vision of the future then?”

“I don’t think that’s it either,” she whispered, raising a hand to cover her heart. “I felt like I was there. I could hear them, as clearly as I can hear you.”

Plo tilted his head to the side, carefully considering her words.

“ _Who_ could you hear, Padawan?”

Ahsoka took a deep breath.

“My men. Where are they?”

“If memory serves, the 501st is currently involved in the invasion of Umbara. Your master is leading the charge.” If Plo was surprised at Ahsoka’s question, he didn’t show it. “If all is going to plan, they should take the capital within the week.”

Ahsoka cringed, her face contorting as she looked downwards. The word ‘capital’ was ringing in her ears, drowning out the sound of Master Koon and the sound of her panicked heart. Plo took a step forward as Ahsoka began to speak once more.

“Master Skywalker isn’t there.” She looked upwards once more, shaking her head. “And I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

 

**_Fives, it would help if you'd ease their minds_ ** _._

_Oh, you mean coax them into following another one of Krell's suicide missions? We lost a lot of men last time._

**_Krell may do things differently, but he is effective at getting them done. He's a recognized war hero._ **

_He may have had some victories, but have you seen his casualty numbers? More troopers have been killed under his command than anyone else._

**_That's the price of war, Fives. We're soldiers. We have a duty to follow orders, and, if we must, lay down our lives for victory._ **

This wasn’t the first time Ahsoka had felt her men as a presence in the force. She kept reminding herself of that as she poked at her rations for the day.  By reaching into the force, she could tell when a battle was going well, and when a battle was just about lost. She could feel which men were hurting and trying to hide it, and she could tell when they genuinely happy to see her.

But she had to _try_ , normally. That was the key. She had to make an active effort to seek them out. Never once had she been so in-tune with them without even _trying_. She had heard Captain Rex’s voice with crystal clarity in the middle of the night, and it continued to echo in her head.

She had found it hard to focus all day, which made things quite problematic. She had been assigned to settle a simple border dispute with Master Plo Koon while her master fought on Umbara. Or at least, that was what she was told. She knew her master wasn’t with her men. Without a shadow of a doubt, she was sure of it. Plo Koon had attempted to get in contact with Skywalker in the early morning hours, but found that he was unable to. That only served to reinforce what Ahsoka was already sure of. She felt the discomfort of her men in the very pit of her stomach, making it terribly hard to concentrate on anything else. After Master Koon had caught her drifting off in her own thoughts for the _third_ time during negotiations, he had sent her to go get something to eat, with strict orders to ‘ _clear your thoughts while doing so_.’.

But the discomfort didn’t fade, and her appetite didn’t attempt to appear.

_Do you believe that? Or is that what you were engineered to think?_

**_I honor my code. That's what I believe._ **

She started to run a fever in the early afternoon, as if her entire body was at war with itself. Plo Koon ordered her to the infirmary, but they could find nothing exceedingly out of the ordinary. They concluded that she had a virus, sent her back to her quarters with orders to hydrate and rest.

 

_This is for the 501 st! Don't wait for me!_

_Hardcase! No!_

_You've disobeyed enough orders today, sir. Follow this one. Get out of here!_

_If I know Hardcase, we'd better leave._

With a shaky hand, Ahsoka reached for the emergency pager the medic had given her. Within a minute, both Plo Koon and a handful of medics were at her door.

“Padawan Tano, are you-”

“I need to get to Umbara.” She threw her legs over the side of the bed and forced herself to get up. “Now.”

“We’ve been over this, young one,” Plo replied, smoothly crossing his arms across his chest. They’re currently engaged with the enemy.”

“You don’t understand, something is _wrong_ ,” she hissed out.

“It is wartime, Padawan. Losses happen.”

“And losses I _understand_!” Tears welled up in her eyes as she begged her mentor to understand. “But not this. This is different, I need to be there.”

 

_Live to fight another day, boys._

_Live to fight another day._

With that, Ahsoka Tano lost consciousness.

 

* * *

 

Her dreams were – unsettling. She dreamt that she was running through a dense fog, tripping on branches and vines with every fifth step. Someone was chasing her, but when she turned around she couldn’t see anyone.

She dreamt that she was standing in front of an army of one hundred faceless men. Someone shouted out the order to fire, but when they pulled their triggers, every single gun jammed.

This brought her joy, and she wasn’t sure why.

* * *

 

_And, Captain, make sure the troops are aware that the enemy may disguise themselves as clones to try to trick us._

“Padawan Tano? Can you hear me?”

**_I will, sir._ **

 

Her eyes fluttered open, resting on the chronometer in her room first. It was late in the evening.

“Padawan?”

She turned her head to see Master Plo sitting at her side.

“We-” her whole body shook as she took a deep breath.

“We need to get to Umbara, yes.” Master Plo nodded. “Whatever it is that you’re sensing is strong in the dark side. I see that now.” He leaned forward, resting his hand on his fist. “I received permission from the council to travel to Umbara. Your men and your master, or whoever it is that they are with, will be grateful to receive some help, I’m sure.”

Ahsoka took a deep breath, some of her anxiety alleviated.

“Thank you, Master. When will we be –“

She wasn’t able to finish her question. A pain like she had never felt pushed through her head like a tidal wave. She struggled to sit up, and pushed the palm of her hands against her eyes, trying to quell it. 

“Padawan?”

Another wave of pain, and the sound of – what could only be described as a blaster bolt.

“Padawan Tano, are you alright?”

 She couldn’t respond to her master. She could barely even hear him over the sound of gunshots in her head. Each shot seemed to hurt a little bit more, and she was losing the fight to stay conscious.

 

**_Everyone, stop firing! We're shooting at our own men!_ **

 

“We will be at Umbara before the morning comes, Padawan. Focus on the force. Stay strong.”

 

**_They're not Umbarans! They're clones! Take off your helmets!_ **

 

“It’s too late, Master,” she gasped, throwing her head back until it hit the wall.

 

**_Show them you're not the enemy. They're clones!_ **

 

“It’s far too _late_.”  


* * *

 

 

When Master Plo’s ship touched down on the planet’s surface, Krell was already dead. He quickly took control of the situation, sending Dogma back to Coruscant, and getting statements from all of the soldiers involved with Krell’s arrest.

Ahsoka found Captain Rex sitting in the mess hall. It had been emptied hours ago, as most of the men wanted nothing more than to shower and rest. But Captain Rex remained, staring at the white wall in front of him while the caf he held faded from lukewarm to cold.

He only looked up when Ahsoka took the seat opposite of him.

And when she looked into his eyes, she saw her own reflected right back.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so, so much for reading! Any comments or criticisms are so deeply appreciated! I respond to all of my comments, and they encourage me so, so much. I'm thinking about doing a second chapter where Rex and Ahsoka talk, so any thoughts on that are welcome as well!!
> 
> Find me on tumblr at spockazilla.tumblr.com
> 
> Transcripts were found at springfieldspringfield.co.uk
> 
> This work has been reuploaded, due to the glaring spelling errors on my first try. Ahsoka's name is hard to spell. Sue me.


End file.
